HAS THE PASSOVER BEEN PASSED OVER?
The Passover
is an important event in God’s calendar, and not to be taken lightly.
Because there is a deep desire to follow the example set for us by
Christ, we would want to structure our lives to bring the Father’s and Christ’s
approval. This strong desire is
what moves a true Christian to search out that way of life.
In this
process it is perceived that what the churches of this world have been
trumpeting has little or no relevance to what Christ taught.
The one who is the author of both New and Old Testaments is Christ, the
Word, and it is there that we should be looking for correct understanding of the
times and elements of this most important event, the Passover.
It seems that
in recent times, among some who sincerely want to seek a true understanding of
God’s word, there has been a cry that we need to get back to our Hebrew Roots,
which in some cases may be an admirable goal.
Unfortunately some have accepted rabbinic teachings in place of God’s
Word, the Bible. By ignoring the
clear teachings of the Bible and accepting Jewish teaching some of God’s people
are misled.
The Old
Testament Passover prefigured the New Testament Passover instituted by Christ.
A rabbinical
tradition being taught is the combining of the Passover, a separate solemn
occasion, in which the excruciating torture and death of Christ, the sacrificial
lamb, an innocent victim, is combined with the Night to be Much Observed, a
celebration of deliverance of God’s people.
Some make the
mistake of combining the Passover with the celebration of the Night to be Much
Observed, which is a joyous occasion. It originally pictured Israel coming out
of slavery in Egypt. Today it pictures God’s people being released from the
deceptions of this world’s beliefs to understand the true future God has in
store for man.
As will be
shown, the Bible, the Word of Christ, never combines these two events.
CHRIST’S WARNINGS
It is clear
that the Messiah gave us many warnings about the Sadducees, those who were
controlling the temple worship and the Pharisees, who usurped the seat of Moses,
who taught their man-made restrictions in place of God’s word. Also included
were a large number of Jewish adherents to their teachings, including a variety
of smaller Jewish sects. They adhered to combinations and variations of their
beliefs. Eventually the Pharisees gained
control and dominated what today is called the Jewish religion.
Just as Christ taught against their teachings, we need to exercise the
same manner of judgment. Therefore, it is understood that the term “Jew” as used
here represents those who today practice those same erroneous rabbinic
teachings. These rabbinic teachings and practices are not limited to the four
gospels. There are many examples in the book of Acts and in Paul’s writings
warning of their deceptions.
Beginning with
the four gospels Christ addresses the Sadducees.
Mark 12:24 “Jesus answered and
said to them, ‘Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the
scriptures nor the power of God?’”
The word “know,” #1492 in Strong’s carries not only the idea of
recall, but also its intrinsic meaning of what is being said.
In John 11:20 Christ instructs His
disciples: “But if one walks in the night
he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” Later,
in John 5:38 Jesus answered the Jews,
“But you do not have His word abiding in
you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.”
Note: NKJV used throughout.
The question
is: Why would anyone believe those who do not understand God’s word, or those
who are not willing to hear God?
When speaking
to a mixed group of Pharisees and Jews He said in John 8:47.
“He who is of God hears God’s words;
therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
The Pharisees
and the Jews who followed them are not of God. If they were of God they would
have accepted the Messiah and continued in that belief to this day.
John 10:26.
“But you do not believe, because you are
not of my sheep, as I said to you.”
John
5:46-47. “For if you believed Moses, you
would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe My words?”
This is a
plain statement that they did not adhere to what Moses wrote. It is clear that
they would not only corrupt the law, but also corrupt the truth of the first
Passover and the Night to be Much Observed as found in Exodus 12.
How would they
do this? They do it by combining
them into one celebration that neither honors Christ’s sacrifice with a separate
commemoration, which is the Passover, or the separate celebration of freedom
from the slavery of this world.
The book of
Matthew echo’s the twisting of the scriptures. Matt. 15:3, 7-9. “But
He answered and said to them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God
because of your tradition?” 7-9, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophecy about
you, saying: These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor Me with
their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
Their
traditions were more important to them than God’s word.
Matt. 16:12.
“Then they understood that He did not
tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but the teachings of the Pharisees
and Sadducees.”
This problem
continued in the book of Acts – 13:45, 50.
“But when the Jews saw the multitudes,
they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the
things spoken by Paul. 50 – But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent
women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.”
THE APOSTLES ALSO WARNED
Acts 14:2 &
19. “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up
the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. 19
– Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the
multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to
be dead.”
Acts 15:1, 5.
“And certain men came down from Judea and
taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of
Moses, you cannot be saved.’” 5 –
“But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is
necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.’”
This includes the sacrificial laws and all of the traditions the Jews
observed.
The book of
Galatians was written by Paul to counter what the Jews were teaching. Gal.1:6-7,
16. “I marvel that you are turning away
so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel,
which is not; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel
of Christ.” Gal. 2:12-13. “For before
certain men came from James he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came,
he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even
Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. Vs 16 –
“Knowing that a man is not justified by
the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in
Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works
of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”
The sacrifices
were the works of the law, and it is seen here that Paul fights against the
Jewish traditions and teachings.
He wrote this
to counter the teaching of rituals that some were saying must be done or no
salvation would be granted. Yet, in
spite of all the above warnings there are some who today are teaching that the
way of the Jews must be taught and practiced.
It should not be understood that this is a wholesale acceptance of Jewish
practices and beliefs’, but rather a picking out of what they think might be
appropriate for believers today. The
primary goal here is to deal with one of these beliefs, namely the teaching
regarding the Passover.
By following
the scriptures of Exodus and understanding what they teach, two events are
clearly shown. To grasp the true
meaning one must understand how God keeps time.
In today’s society there is the distorted idea that the day and its
number changes at midnight, requiring a timepiece to tell us when this change
happens. God’s way is simple and direct.
THE STARTING POINT OF THE DAY
All calendars
need a starting point and the question of where to begin must be addressed. A
calendar of days requires a starting point of the day. Man measures a 24-hour
period as one day, but God measures one revolution of the earth as one day. This
is clearly addressed in Genesis, and the exact moment of the start of Creation
week is defined by God in His Word. Gen. 1:2 tells us that the earth is in
darkness and that God’s Spirit is hovering over waters. It is the waters in the
atmosphere that are preventing light from reaching the earth.
Gen. 1:2, “The
earth became void and dark.” God did two things at this time. He cleared the
earth’s atmosphere, allowing light to reach it, and started the rotation of the
earth which gives us the day. Gen. 1:5 says,
“God called the light Day, and the
darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
The first half
of this verse calls out the morning first and then the evening. The latter half
defines the first day as beginning with the evening. The starting and ending
point of the day is almost simultaneous; as one day ends the next begins. This
is true because the earth has a constant rotational movement.
In the
subsequent verses of the creation account in Genesis God repeats this statement:
“The evening and the morning” five
times! This confirms the day’s intersecting points coming at the end of the day
(evening.)
To understand
how this term “evening” is used as regarding the day’s end, and how it is
Biblically determined, look at the following scriptures: Josh. 8:29,
“And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree
until evening. And as soon as the sun was down,
Joshua commanded that they should take the corpse down from the tree.” Josh.
10:26, And after Joshua struck them and
killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging on the trees
until evening. So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua
commanded and they took them down from the trees.”
Joshua 8:29
defines Joshua 10:26, in that the word “evening” (6153) of 10:26 depicts the
entering into of the next day by saying, “the sun was down.”
It can be seen
by these scriptures that evening and the going down of the sun is synonymous. It
is plain that Joshua considered this to be the end of the day.
In 2nd
Samuel 3:35 David also considered the going down of the sun as the day’s end. 1st
Kings 22:35-36 and 2nd Chron. 18:34 both depict sunset as the end of
the day. In Deut. 24:15 God says,
“Each day you shall give him his wages,
and not let the sun go down on it.” This is the legal definition for payment
of wages by the days-end, before the new day begins.
Finally and
most significant is the prophecies of Daniel 8:13-14, 26 where these prophetic
days are pointedly stated as “evenings and mornings.”
This is
confirmed in the New Testament by the Gospel writers. Mark 1:32 and Luke 4:40:
“Now when the sun was setting, all those
who had anyone sick with various diseases’ brought them to Him and He laid His
hand on every one of them and healed them.”
They waited until the sun was down due to their fear of the authorities
of the synagogue, who considered healing on the Sabbath to be work (sin.)
So the people waited for the beginning of the next day before bringing
the sick. In Eph. 4:26 Paul writes, “Be
angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” As these
scriptural references point out the day ends at sunset. Therefore, the next day
begins at the same time.
GOD’S CLOCK
When did God
start His clock? In Gen. 1:14-19, “Then
God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day
from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the
earth; and it was so.’ God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the
day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set
them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule
over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And
God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
Here God names
the instruments that He has created for man to keep track of time. He also
delineates their function.
CHOOSING THE PASSOVER LAMB OR KID
In Exodus 12:3
God instructs the Israelites to choose out a lamb on the 10th day of
the first month. Because the 10th was a Sabbath determined by Exodus
16 verse 1, which shows that the 15th day of the second month was a
Sabbath, therefore the 10th day of the first month was a Sabbath. The
lamb was chosen at the end of the day which would be the beginning of the first
day of the week, Sunday. The
beginning of Sunday until the beginning of Monday would be day one.
The beginning of Monday until the beginning of Tuesday would be day two.
The beginning of Tuesday to the beginning of Wednesday brings us to the third
day.
This
instruction might be puzzling, but once it is understood that this animal was
kept without food or water the instructions of verse 9 would make sense.
Ex.12:9 reads, “Do not eat it raw,
but roasted in fire – its head with its legs and its entrails.”
If one is
going to roast the animal whole, including its entrails, they would want it to
be empty of all urine and dung. This makes the killing and preparation of the
lamb for roasting simple. The throat was cut; the blood was caught to strike on
the doorpost and the lintel. The
lamb was then put on the roasting rack.
No skinning or gutting was needed; the whole operation would not take
more than a few minutes.
Now, there is
another instruction that God gives to Moses in Ex. 12:5.
The lamb or goat had to be of the first year and without blemish.
Unless one is familiar with raising sheep and goats it is hard to
understand what was required to follow God’s instruction.
Sheep and
goats are bred in the fall, beginning in late August. The ewes lamb from January
through February and March, meaning that to be of the first year a lamb must be
taken from the newly born lambs of that year.
Those born in January would hardly exceed 30 pounds, being of the oldest
lambs that could be used. Why is it needful to understand this?
Because some are teaching that the practice of killing, gutting, skinning
and roasting would have taken them beyond the time God allotted for this
Passover meal to occur before midnight.
It is not scriptural to gut or skin the animal before roasting as has
been pointed out.
WHEN WERE THE ANIMALS SACRIFICED?
It could be
true if you were roasting an animal born the previous year, which could exceed
100 pounds. But this is a little innocent lamb or goat of a few months of age as
instructed by God, which would not take much time to be ready to eat. The
innocence of these small animals and their death reflects the innocence of our
Savior and His crucifixion. The picture of innocence would not be true of a
full-grown animal.
The time
element for the killing and roasting of the lamb has now been nullified. Next
the time line of when this happens must be addressed. The Israelites were to
keep the lamb until the 14th day. The word “until” is Strong’s 5704,
and the following definition is taken from the Theological Word Book of the Old
Testament: “ad functions as both
preposition and conjunction. It indicates the gamut, toward, and the movement up
to.” Surely this places the killing
of the lamb at the start of the 14th.
In addition we find the translators use the term, “in the evening,
between the two evenings, or at twilight.
UNDERSTANDING “BETWEEN THE
EVENINGS”
This is
Strong’s 6153, and has created a problem for those advocating the Jewish
tradition of combining the Passover with the Night to be Much Observed.
Their claim is that 6153 is counted from noon, as the sun is going down
toward setting. Thus they say that
the killing of the lamb can take place at any time in what we call the
afternoon. Using this logic the Day
of Atonement would be observed from sometime after noon on the 9th to
sometime after noon on the 10th.
“No”, they
say. “Here we would apply it from sunset to sunset.” Isn’t this a bit
incongruous?
If an
undisputed description can be found of how the word 6153 is used in another
passage of God’s word, its meaning would be clear, and it then should be applied
to the Passover definition as well.
A primary rule
of good bible study requires that a scripture or key word within that scripture
should be searched out in other parts of the bible, where the meaning is made
plain. By using this practice the
questionable scripture will be correctly understood.
Such a
scripture is found in Exodus, chapter 16, where God sets the record straight for
Israel on which day is the Sabbath.
Ex. 16:1 shows that this day, the 15th day of the 2nd
month was the day God dealt with the Israelites complaint of having no meat.
There is no doubt that this is a Sabbath
day because the following 7th day God designates as His Sabbath
because there was no manna to gather.
WEDNESDAY – THE DAY OF THE PASSOVER
As an aside,
backing up from this day in increments of seven, it is found that the 14th
of the 1st month is a Wednesday. This
becomes important when considering the last Passover of Christ’s life in the New
Testament, because this Passover of Exodus foreshadows Christ’s crucifixion on
the same week day.
An important
truth here is that God is going to send quail. When?
Between the two evenings as shown in #6153.
God would not have them run down birds, kill and butcher them for the
evening meal if it was still noontime of the Sabbath, or afternoon on the
Sabbath.
God absolutely
would not have them running down quail and cooking them on the Sabbath, when He
did not give them manna, which required just picking up on the Sabbath.
Therefore, it is obvious that the giving of the quail takes place after
sunset, making it the beginning of the next day, the first day of the week.
The word
numbered 6153 describes what was done between the two evenings, i.e. after
sunset, the beginning of Sunday, the first day of the week.
6153 is NEVER used to designate an afternoon of a day.
It is ALWAYS shown to be an end of a day, or the start of a new one. The
time element for the end of a day, and the beginning of a new day technically
occurs at the same instant, which is the disappearing of the sun below the
horizon.
THE TWO DERIVATIONS OF STRONG’S
6153
Strong’s #6153
has two different spellings, both carrying the same number, and they have a
similar meaning. However the words used in Exodus 12 and Exodus 16 do have the
same spelling, but require a more distinct translation, which has already been
pointed out. The difference in the spelling of these words can be seen in the
Interlinear Bible by J .P .Green, Sr.
For confirmation see page 170 and 184 of volume 1.
THE VER FIRST PASSOVER IN EGYPT’S
TIMELINE
As the bible
outlines, not as rabbinical tradition dictates, a correct time line will now be
set. The lamb is chosen on the 10th
day of the first month, a Sabbath. The lamb is kept three days, Sunday, Monday
and Tuesday without food or water before it is killed. At the beginning of the
14th, just after sunset on Wednesday, the lamb is then killed, which
has been proven by the scriptures which describe when a new day begins.
Exodus 16
defines the correct definition of “between the evenings,” because the Sabbath
day has ended, resulting in the beginning of the next day.
The lamb was
killed and the blood struck on the doorposts and lintel at that time.
Then, before midnight, the lamb was roasted and eaten.
This is shown in Ex. 12:11-13.
“And thus you shall eat it: with a
belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So
you shall eat it in haste. (#2649 – meaning respect, awe.)
It is the Lord’s Passover. For I
will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the first
born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of
Egypt. I will execute judgment; I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for
you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you;
and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of
Egypt.”
The statement
in verse 13, “I will pass over you,”
is the defining statement for the naming of the 14th of Nisen as the
Passover. God passed over their dwellings, saving their first born from certain
death.
WHEN THEY LEFT EGYPT
Num. 33:3-4
reads, “They departed from Rameses in the
first month, on the 15th day of the month; on the day after (#4283)
the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all
the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying their first born, whom the Lord
had killed among them. Also, on
their gods the Lord had executed judgments.”
These verses
put to rest all doubt of the Passover on the 14th being a separate 24 hour day
from the 15th, which is the first day of Unleavened Bread.
To make sure there is no misunderstanding about the above scripture: The
“day after” is a combination word, #4480 and #4283 with the following
definitions for these words found in The Theological Word Book of the Old
Testament. “4480 is used as a
preposition attached to its noun, meaning “fourth” used of a time, it usually
means time from when, e.g. from antiquity.”
“#4283,
Mohorat. Tomorrow: taken from the Word Book of the Old Testament.
The most interesting feature about this
feminine noun is that ‘On the morrow of’ means “after.”(Lev. 23:11,
“And he shall wave the sheaf before the
Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath
the priest shall wave it.” Also see
Lev.23:15, 16; Num. 33:3, Josh. 5:11).
There can be
no question or ambiguity about the directions in these scriptures, because it is
how these very days are kept today. The designation is “the next day,”
establishing proof of the day they departed.
This clinches
it. The day they departed was the 15th.
Of necessity, the day before was the 14th, and here the
fourteenth is clearly named The Passover.
Continuing in verse 4 of Numbers 33, it was on the 15th that
the Egyptians were burying their first born. Knowing the fetish they had about
death and the importance of burial they would have taken some time to grieve
prepare the bodies for burying, which would have taken place during the morning
and afternoon of the 14th, preceding the burial at the beginning of
the 15th when Israel was leaving.
TWO KINDS OF DAYS
Exodus 12:14
is the start of a new subject, pertaining to the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Feast days are designated by the requirement to have a holy convocation; one
central point where all Israel is to be gathered together. This is what took
place on the 15th, and is different from the Passover and the
Sabbath, which were home based or locally observed.
GEOGRAPHY OF THE LAND
Remember, for
the Passover the Israelites were in their homes, not in a city, but scattered
throughout the land of Goshen, though some may have been in the confines of
Rameses. They were principally keepers of sheep and cattle, which would require
an extensive amount of land, meaning they would have to travel some distance;
perhaps as much as ten miles to reach Rameses, which was the starting point of
their exodus.
Rameses was
centrally located in the land of Goshen, and though Goshen covered a large
territory, the distance to Rameses would be mitigated.
WHEN COULD THEY LEAVE THEIR HOMES?
An additional
point is found in Exodus 12:22. “And you
shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and
strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin.
And none of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.”
The key word
used here is “morning,” #1242, boger. Morning, dawn. Linked with the root bagar,
boger denotes the breaking through of the daylight, and thus dawn, or more
usually morning. From The
Theological Word Book of the Old Testament.
MOSES CALL TO LEAVE
Does Exodus
12:31 counter this instruction? “Then he
called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, ‘Rise and go out from among my
people, both you and the children of Israel. And go serve the Lord as you have
said.’” Called is the important
word here. He did not have Moses and Aaron there to direct His message to.
The death angel passed through the land at midnight. It would be some
time after that before the Pharaoh decided to release Israel.
Remember, a messenger would have to be called, who in turn would need to
go to the stables, saddle a horse or hitch a chariot, and then take the time to
travel to where Moses was located.
All this with no light, and the moon would be waning as the dawn approached. And
this would all be done with no lighted roads.
In addition, a pertinent scripture is found in Exodus 10:28-29.
“Then the Pharaoh said to him,’ get away
from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see
my face you shall die!’ And Moses said, ‘You have spoken well. I will never see
your face again.’” And they
never saw one another again!
In Exodus
12:1-14 God laid out to Moses and Aaron the plan for the Passover and its future
observance as a memorial of what was about to happen, but often missed is that
in verse 15 through 17 God also laid out, in advance, the observance of the Days
of Unleavened Bread, which would be acted out in the subsequent days as the
Israelites fled from Egypt. In verse 16 God imposed the requirement for the
people to be called together in a holy convocation. These verses were a
direction that was about to be immediately fulfilled.
If they
remained in their homes until the break of day they would need to travel to the
central location; not only to begin their journey, but to follow the direction
to have a holy convocation requiring them to gather.
Exodus 12:16. “On the first day
there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy
convocation for you.”
Exodus 12:50.
“Thus all the children of Israel did as
the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”
God is telling us that ALL of the
previous directions were fulfilled, not just some, but ALL.
NIGHT TO BE MUCH OBSERVED
Traveling to
Rameses was done during the day portion of the 14th, and they then
started as a group from Rameses in the evening – the beginning of the 15th, a
Thursday. As Numbers 33:3 states, and Exodus 12:37 agrees: “Then
the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on
foot besides children.” The
travel to Succoth was a short journey, and is realized as simply a campsite;
Succoth meaning temporary shelter.
Exodus
12:40-42. “Now the sojourn of the
children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years. And it came to pass at the
end of 430 years – on that very same day – it came to pass that all the armies
of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance
to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children
of Israel throughout their generations.”
Backtracking,
430 years finds that it is the very day that Abraham left Haran to start his
journey to the Promised Land, just as the Israelites did.
For the complete explanation of the 430 years read the article THE 430
YEARS on the web site:
www.t-cog.org
Exodus 12:42
reads: “It is a night of solemn
observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This
is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all of the children of Israel
throughout their generations.”
Here God tells
the Israelites that this is an important night; so important that they should
observe it forever. The term “much
observed” used in the KJ version is #8107, and interestingly this term is never
used again. Plainly God has placed more than a modicum of importance on this
night. Would He leave Israel without any direction as to how they were to
observe it? Exodus 12 has nothing
in it about how to observe this night.
The directions are found in Deuteronomy 16:1-8. The problem arises
because the word “Passover” is used in these scriptures, and as will be
addressed the directions given here run contrary to those required for the
Passover of Exodus 12. This mystery is cleared up by another scripture located
in Exodus 34:18, 25.
UNDERSTANDING THE TERM “PASSOVER”
“The feast of Unleavened Bread you
shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in
the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out
from Egypt.” Verse 25:
“You shall not offer the blood of My
sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover
left until morning.”
Note that here
it is called “the Feast of the Passover,” and is obviously referring to the
seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The term “feast” used here shows
that the word Passover can refer to two separate occasions, meaning that it is
the content of the verses that determine whether it is speaking about the
memorial of the death angel passing over, or the leaving of Egypt the following
night.
SOLEMN OBSERVANCE
What is the
meaning of “solemn observance?” Looking at another set of scriptures will
explain what the Israelites did on this night. Going to Deuteronomy 16, in the
first eight verses, a detailed description is found of how Israelites celebrated
this important night. Verse 1
“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the
Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God
brought you out of Egypt by night.”
The topic of
this verse is clearly spelled out; speaking of the night they were brought out
of Egypt, the 15th of Abib as Numbers 33:3 points out. Deut. 16:2.
“Therefore you shall sacrifice the
Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where
the Lord chooses to put His name.”
SACRIFICES DEFINED
There are two
important directions given here delineating that this instruction pertains to
the 15th. The term “the
herd” is the first automatic restriction preventing this from being the night
where the death angel passed over. That could only be a sacrifice of the lamb of
the first year. Secondly, all of Israel is to come together at the place that
the Lord chooses for convocation, not in individual homes as directed for the
Passover.
The word “herd
is #1241, and is defined in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
as follows: “Bagar,”
Cattle, herd, ox. Bagar (180
times), often used collectively, is doubtfully to be linked with Bagar (see
above) to split, more particularly to plow. Though bagar refers to draught
animals such as oxen, the term is used for domestic cattle, including bulls,
cows, heifers, and calves. Bagar is
distinguished from “flock” which denotes small cattle such as sheep and goats.”
DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
Deut. 16:3. “You
shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread
with it, that is the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt
in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of
Egypt all the days of your life.”
Here the
emphasis is placed on the leaving of Egypt, coming out of slavery.
Deut. 16:4.
“No leaven shall be seen among you in all
your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrificed
the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.”
This is
clarified in Leviticus 22:29-30. “And
when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, (which is what they were doing)
to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. On the same day it shall be eaten.
You shall leave none of it until morning.”
The
instructions give a period of seven days in which leaven is not to be eaten or
found in their possession. See
Exodus 12:19.
Deut. 16:5.
“You may not sacrifice the Passover
within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you.”
KEEPING THESE DAYS IN THE FUTURE
Because the
instruction was to “not sacrifice the Passover within your gates,” a logistics
problem would be presented for future generations once the land was settled.
Obviously they were required to come to a central location to observe
this special night. One could not keep
the Passover of the 14th in his own home if he were required to keep
the seven days of unleavened bread in Jerusalem, as was true in the time of
Christ; but it did not negate the fact that this was still to be a family
affair, and to be kept as such. Christ shows us this by keeping it in a private
way with His disciples, whom He called His family.
Matthew 12:49.
This truth is
confirmed in the two great Passovers of the Kings of Judah. In II Chronicles
30:17, (Hezekiah’s Passover,) we read, “For
there were many in the congregation who had not sanctified themselves; therefore
the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who
was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord.”
The change instituted here shows that
the initial responsibility for the killing of the Passover lambs was with the
individuals, not with the Priesthood or Levites.
Again, in
Josiah’s great Passover an important fact is found that substantiates the
responsibility for the Passover sacrifice by the individual families. II
Chronicles 35 tell us: ‘“So slaughter the
Passover offerings, sanctify yourselves, and prepare for them for your brethren,
that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.’ Then
Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for
Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of 30,000, as well as
3,000 cattle; these were from the king’s possessions.”
Josiah did two
things that were important. First he went to the instructions of Moses so that
he would correctly observe the Passover. As these instructions of Moses have
been explained, it is the reason these smaller animals were given to the people
for their Passover, and the larger animals were for the Night to be Much
Observed, and the following seven days of Unleavened Bread.
The great
number of the kids and lambs sacrificed would demand that this be done on a
family basis as Moses had instructed.
The Passover
of the 14th was done as a family unit wherever they were residing,
but the convocation was on the 15th
Deut. 16:6
“But at the place where the Lord your God
chooses to make His name abide there, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at
twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt.”
The key is “the time you came
out of Egypt,” the evening of the 15th.
Deut.16:7.
“And you shall roast (basha) and eat it
in the place which the Lord your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn
and go to your tents.”
Two points are
to be remembered about this scripture.
The word “basha” means either roast or boil what you are preparing to eat
and this would not be allowed for the paschal sacrifice of the 14th.
Also, it is “where God chooses,” meaning a convocation of the Israelites.
Though the
word “Passover” is used consistently throughout these scriptures, the actions
and definitions can only be understood as occurring on the night they departed
Egypt, the beginning of the 15th.
All the facts
presented here come from the bible, the Word of God, and not from any commentary
or Jewish tradition. The term used, the 14th of Nisan, or Abib, is
always named the Passover. This
means that it was the day the death angel passed over the children of Israel,
not killing any who had the blood on the doorpost and lintel.
Additionally,
the 15th of the first month is always designated as the first day of
seven days of Unleavened Bread. These are two separate events, and are to be
celebrated as such.
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING
Then how
should we, in light of the New Testament, view what is presented here?
Do we see Christ as disconnected from the Old Testament?
In fact He used the Old Testament to show that it was He who was
prophesied to come as the Messiah, and that He would be sacrificed as the Lamb
of God to take away the sins of the world.
One sterling
fact is apparent about Christ that should always direct our beliefs and actions.
John 1:1 tells us who Christ was.
“In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
This scripture explains it all.
What is consistently referred to as “The Word of God?” in both the Old
and New Testaments of the Bible?
Then who is
the author? Who is responsible for every word written therein? Heb. 1:2.
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith...” It is obvious by reading the four gospels that
Christ had perfect and instant recall of the entire bible. Why? It had to be
because He was the one responsible for its entire content.
Once the
spectacular event of the original Passover is thoroughly grasped, then it is
realized that its author, Christ, would not deviate from His own instructions on
how and when the Passover was to be observed.
Also recognized is that He would be the prophetic fulfillment of the
original Passover.
ON WHAT DID CHRIST BASE HIS
MESSIAHSHIP?
The
determining scripture, the one on which Christ based His Messiah ship,
and reflects what actually happened to
Him after His death on the cross is Matthew 12:38-42; and when examining the
biblical account of the Crucifixion it is clearly shown that it takes place on a
Wednesday. His crucifixion did not begin on a Friday as generally accepted.
Christ explicitly states otherwise in Matt. 12:39.
“But He answered and said to them, ‘An
evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to
it except the sign of the prophet Jonah,’ for as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’”
Buried!
Here Christ
places His authentication as the Messiah on being dead and in the grave for
three complete days and three complete nights. This time period began
on the fourteenth of Nisan or Abib, nearing sunset. By Christ’s own words He had
to fulfill this requirement of three days and three nights to be the Messiah. He
literally staked all He did in His life on earth to be measured by this
declaration.
Remember,
unlike our present method of time keeping God marks the beginning and end of the
day at sunset.
THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS
Christ entered
the tomb shortly before the end of the day. Luke 23:54.
“That day was the preparation day,
and the Sabbath drew near, (coming to the end of the day, with the
annual Sabbath beginning at sunset.)
And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they
observed the tomb and how His body was laid.”
These women walked from Golgotha back to Jerusalem, bringing the
preparation day to a close.
Also, the day
was not a Friday before the weekly Sabbath, but the day before an annual
Sabbath. John 19:31. “Therefore because
it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on
the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their
legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”
DO NOT IGNORE THE BOOK OF JOHN
Some would
like to disregard the statement by John, reasoning that the other three gospels
fail to mention that the day following the preparation day was an annual high
day. Their logic, based on the above thinking is that any differences which John
revealed that were not confirmed by any of the other three gospels should not be
accepted as valid. The truth is
that the book of John was written to augment the other three gospels.
John wrote his gospel to fill in what the others had left out, and one
important point he made was that the day following the preparation was not an
ordinary weekly Sabbath but a high day Sabbath.
John had the ultimate responsibility for accurately preserving the
events of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Coupling the book of John with
the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke gives us a true picture.
When thinking
past these human ideas it should be realized that Christ Himself, the Word, gave
to these men what was needed to be preserved for our knowledge today.
This annual
high day Sabbath, the First Day of Unleavened Bread, could only occur on a
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday of the week. One needs only to consult the
Hebrew calendar to find this to be true. In this case it was a Thursday. Mark
16:1. “Now when the Sabbath was past,
the first Day of Unleavened Bread, Lev. 23:6-7)
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James,
and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Him.”
These women made their purchases on the day following the annual
Sabbath, or the second day of Christ’s interment, a Friday. During this time in
history businesses were only open during daylight hours, not as business is
presently conducted. In addition, no buying or selling could take place on
either a high day Sabbath or a weekly Sabbath.
Remember! This high day Sabbath began at sundown on Wednesday and ended
Thursday at sundown. Therefore, an intervening day was required to purchase and
prepare the spices to anoint Christ’s body.
Luke 23:56
tells us what took place on the day after the spices were purchased and
prepared. “Then they returned and
prepared the spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath day
according to the commandment.”
The scriptures show that two separate Sabbaths occurred in that week, thus
accounting for three days and three nights. The first Sabbath was an annual
Sabbath; the First Day of Unleavened Bread. The second was the weekly Sabbath
that is now called Saturday. Christ went into the tomb just before sunset on
Wednesday, meaning He was resurrected just before sunset on Saturday, the weekly
Sabbath, fulfilling precisely His time in the grave of three days and three
nights. This also mirrors the Passover of Exodus 12 as shown to have occurred on
a Wednesday.
UNDERSTANDING
LUKE 24:20-21
Because of the
finality of Christ’s statements in Matthew 12 all references to His time in the
grave must be measured by this absolute.
One scripture used to counter Christ’s words is found in Luke 24:20-21,
“And how the chief priests and our rulers
delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping it
was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the
third day since these things happened.”
If this
scripture refers to the time lapse of Christ’s interment it would appear to be a
problem. However if one understands what the topic of discussion was, it
is no longer a problem. The discussion
centers on what the high priests and rulers did. Their efforts were concluded on
Thursday morning. Matt. 27:62-65. “On the
next day which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees
gathered together to Pilate, saying ‘Sir, we remember, while He was still alive,
how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that
the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night
and steal Him away, and say to the people ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the
last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, ‘You have a
guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made
the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.’”
Setting the
guard and sealing the tomb was their final act, and Sunday would be the third
day, with this explanation: From Thursday to Friday morning is day one, Friday
morning to Saturday morning is day two, Saturday morning to Sunday morning is
day three. The setting of the guard was an important event when considering that
it resulted in the fabricated story as Matthew relates in chapter 28, verses 11
through 15. “Now while they were going,
behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests
all that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and taken
counsel, they gave a large amount of money to the soldiers, saying, ‘tell them,
His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’
And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make
you secure.’ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this
saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.’”
It is
important to keep in mind that all of these accounts were written after the
fact, so that the hidden parts of each story were revealed by the writers.
In conclusion,
all of the information presented herein from both Old and New Testaments
confirms that the Passover is a separate day, to be observed as a memorial of
Christ’s crucifixion and death. It is a
yearly observation.
The evening of
the first Day of Unleavened Bread, (the start of the day,) is a commemoration of
our release from the slavery of this world.
Don Roth
03-26-15